Last March, Mr. and Mrs. Wren built a nest on a high shelf in the garage. I was too short to get a peek inside the nest, but I enjoyed seeing the babies as they got a little older. Mrs. Wren had grown quite accustomed to Brett, who spends many hours in the garage. When the babies hatched Brett was able to save Mrs. Wren some time by feeding her some meal worms, which she passed on to her babies. Though Mr. Wren was never quite as comfortable with us, we were still able to watch him help out in feeding the babies from time to time.
The babies were ready to leave the nest for the first time on a day that was raining cats and dogs outside. I was startled when I went into the garage to do some laundry and there was chirping from every direction. They were all over the garage, especially by the window. We didn't want to lose any of them in the storm, so we kept the doors closed. We were happy to see that they all made it back to their nest that night--though Brett did have to rescue a few of them from the garbage can and an old glass milk bottle! Their wings had not grown all the way yet, and when they fell in they weren't able to fly out. The next day was beautiful and sunny, so we opened the doors and watched the birds as they made their way outside. It was fun to see how they communicated with their Mama to keep close together. They stayed pretty close to the house for the next few days, but eventually we weren't able to spot the little family flock anymore.
We were so excited when Mrs. Wren built another nest in the garage in May. This time she built it in a little cubby under the cabinet beside my washer/dryer--the perfect height for me to peek into. By now Mrs. Wren was quite accustomed to our presence, and obviously didn't mind us going about our usual work. Every time I worked on the laundry I passed by her nest and said "Good morning." I still can't believe that she chose that spot right next to the dryer (we have stackable machines) to make her nest.
Again, Brett was able to feed Mama; we were able to watch the babies grow; saw them leave the nest; and kept up with them until they left our yard. Brett thinks Mr. and Mrs. Wren made another nest later in the summer outside.
Here are some photos of our little Wren family.
They start out as such tiny eggs:
Mama dutifully kept her eggs warm. Good morning, Mrs. Wren.
Those baby birds sure are hungry a lot!
Wrennie want a meal worm?
It's getting crowded in here...
Fuzzy, tail-less, baby bird:
Don't fly into the garbage can anymore. You'll get stuck, and I won't always be around to bail you out.
We still saw Mrs. Wren from time to time around the house, and occasionally in the garage. But what surprised us most was to discover that this winter she started using the garage as a place to sleep at night. She discovered that the moving blankets and throw rug I had stashed on top of the dryer made a warm, cozy bed. I don't blame her. It has been freezing outside! (You can't see her, but she's tucked in there, fast asleep.)
Almost every night since the middle of December she has made her bed there. She comes around the same time every night. Brett likes to be in the garage right about 5:00pm to see her come in. Sometimes she chatters at him as if to say, "What are you doing in my house? I'm ready to go to sleep!" before flying into bed.
I'm not sure what she was doing yesterday morning, but she sure got mad at me when I came in to do some laundry. She chattered and chattered at me. So I quickly transferred my laundry and went back inside to give her some privacy.
She is full of personality, and we have enjoyed watching her this last year. We hope that Mrs. Wren will feel comfortable raising some babies near us again this Spring.
We'll leave our bird-door open for you, Mrs. Wren!
2 comments:
That is so fun! Birds nest every year in the hanging plant baskets on my parents' porch, but they have never been so friendly. They always fly away when anyone approaches the porch or leaves the house, and it can be quite startling. Especially last year when one of the nesting mothers was a mourning dove - she was huge!
We have a lot of mourning doves around here, but I haven't seen one of their nests. Aside from the wrens, we (especially our dog Copper) typically get chased by the mocking birds nesting in our yard. They are none too quiet when you get too close!
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